Costus spectabilis

This extraordinary member of the spiral ginger genus ( Costus ) originates from tropical Africa. Costus spectabilis is the national flower of Nigeria and is also featured on the national coat of arms .

This spiral ginger is a geophyte and grows primarily in seasonally dry, tropical climates. It survives the dry season leafless as an underground rhizome. During the rainy season, it sprouts very quickly and forms the typical four-leaved, flat rosette, which makes it look like a giant clover. The individual leaves grow to about 15 cm long and wide and have fine, light green longitudinal stripes and a narrow, red margin. From the center emerges a single, trumpet-shaped, yellow flower that reaches up to 15 cm in height and a diameter of approximately 10 cm. Several of these flowers can develop during a single growing season, but only one at a time.

Towards the end of the rainy season, the leaves die off and the plant survives the dry months underground as a rhizome.



You will receive a sprouting rhizome in a 9cm square pot. The rhizome pieces are of varying sizes and are approximately 10cm long.

These rather small rhizomes grow into surprisingly large plants! The plants in the gallery photos, with a diameter of approximately 30 cm, grew from exactly these kinds of rhizomes.